President Trump signed an executive action Tuesday intended to lower prescription drug prices for Americans.
A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters ahead of the signing that the move would include “delivering lower prices to seniors” and improve the Medicare drug price negotiation program, which was created by the Inflation Reduction Act that passed in 2022.
“We are confident we will eclipse the savings the Biden administration achieved in the first year,” the official said.
Because the number of drugs subject to negotiation increases each year, greater savings over time were baked into the law. Medicare negotiated the prices of 10 drugs in 2024, and it will negotiate 15 more this year, including for Ozempic, the blockbuster diabetes medicine with a list price of around $1,000 a month.
Any price breaks would take time
But consumers will have to wait to see the results. The lower Medicare prices negotiated in the Biden administration won’t take effect until 2026. And prices from the new round of negotiations by the Trump administration won’t be available until 2027.
And if the administration applies tariffs to imported pharmaceuticals and ingredients used to make medicines domestically, consumers could pay more for many medications. A federal notice filed Monday said the secretary of commerce is investigating the national security effects of the importation of drugs and drug ingredients. The findings could be a precursor to tariffs.
The official said the administration would resurrect a program from Trump’s first term to give insulin to low-income individuals, including those without insurance. In some cases, the official said, patients would pay 3 cents a vial, plus a small administrative fee,…
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